Chesterfield County Airport's New Leader

Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll, U.S. Pacific Fleet's deputy commander and chief of staff, receives the Distinguished Service Medal from Adm. Cecil D. Haney, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet during his retirement ceremony aboard the USS Arizona Memorial. Driscoll is retiring after 34 years of service and has served in his current position since February 2012. U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class David Kolmel

Very rarely does one get an opportunity to meet an honest-to-goodness hero, a person with so much character, such distinguished accomplishments, and a portfolio of such impressive feats. I had that chance this month to meet such a person – retired Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll.

“He is a combat vet, flying ace, a passionate leader, dedicated husband and caring father,” said Commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, Adm. Cecil Haney at Driscoll’s retirement ceremony in 2013. “As a highly decorated naval aviator, his flying career is the stuff of legends. Whenever our nation was in need of air warriors, Pat Driscoll answered the call to fly and lead in combat.”

From his early aviation studies as a student at the University of Illinois to his retirement at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Driscoll’s naval career has been nothing short of legendary. With more than 5,000 flight hours in three different aircraft (S-3 Viking, A-7E Corsair and the F/A-18 Hornet), Driscoll completed more than 1,200 aircraft carrier landings during a career that included air combat missions in the Gulf War, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Bosnia, and Afghanistan.

With a career spanning 35 years, several armed conflicts, and postings around the world, his most surprising career moment happened here in the U.S. “I never expected to be the commanding officer of The Blue Angels,” he said. “It was not in my thought process or even something I dreamt about.” During the 1999 and 2000 air show calendar, Driscoll led his team of six pilots in demonstrations of jaw-dropping maneuvers, often flying only 18 inches apart. Thousands of spectators watched, and undoubtedly many future naval aviators were inspired by The Blue Angels under Driscoll’s command.

While the stories of his military past could fill volumes, it is his love of flying and drive to inspire the next generation of aviators that, in part, led the retired admiral to Virginia. His main focus these days is on the Chesterfield County Airport (FCI).

“The airport is growing and vibrant,” proclaims Driscoll.

As the new manager of FCI, one of only eight reliever airports in the Commonwealth, Driscoll pointed out the very direct economic impact the airport has on Chesterfield County development. The airport employs 239 people, has a payroll of $7.9 million and generates over $27 million in economic activity for the county.

The airport’s additional advantage to the county is in how it generates secondary income. According to Driscoll, at FCI, you can fly in, park, go to your meetings, sign your contracts, make your deals, have lunch and take off – on your schedule – without paying a fee. And with the proposed expansion of the runway to 6,300 feet, the airport will be able to handle larger corporate jets, further increasing the airport’s appeal to the executive traveler.

“This expansion will take care of us for quite some time in terms of what the county needs in order to be a good county airport. We need to focus on what we are good at and this runway expansion will meet 99 percent of those requirements for the time being,” explains Driscoll.

As the manager, Driscoll has three short-term goals: to increase capacity for corporate jets; to increase more general aviation flyers by getting the fun back in flying; and to bring a vibrant flight school to the airport to help get young people interested in flying.

“Aviation is a great bridge to science, technology, engineering and mathematics [STEM] careers,” he says. “Showing kids that airplanes are cool is a great lever to getting them interested in those kind of studies.”

Driscoll’s goal is that the flight school will provide a segue to community outreach by partnering with the local community colleges and high schools in opening the world of aviation to students.

As a lifelong aviator, Driscoll is also passionate about bringing back the romance of aviation, especially for private aviators.

“If you come out here and watch for awhile and see these beautiful aircraft just taking off and landing, you’ll understand the lure of flight,” Driscoll says. “The 82 airplanes at FCI are all unique in certain ways. With home-built aircraft and the engineering designs that are being built now, you can see some really neat airplanes on the field. It is fun to just come out and watch.”

As we walked around the airfield at the end of our meeting, the admiral’s enthusiasm for all things aviation was evident. He pointed out the Virginia National Guard helicopters and the Virginia State Police and federal agency aircrafts, as well as various privately owned planes that call FCI home. Hearing the attributes and characteristics of each plane from a man who has defended our country for over three decades and has flown some of the most sophisticated machines in the world was a delight. That Rear Adm. Driscoll has chosen the Chesterfield County Airport as his next career post is indeed fortunate for the county and its residents.